Persuasion
by Marlen
Summary: A diner, some coffee and an important decision.


TITLE: Persuasion (1/1)   
AUTHOR: Marlen  
EMAIL: crmv@aol.com  
RATING: PG  
KEYWORDS: Scully Angst  
CATEGORY: Vignette, missing scene  
FEEDBACK: Would just make my day!  
SPOILERS: Slight references to One Breath, FTF, This Is Not   
Happening, missing scene in DeadAlive   
DISTRIBUTION: Yes. Please make sure my name is intact and I   
would love for you to drop a line to let me know where it's   
going.  
DISCLAIMER: Even though it was a huge cop out and three months   
whole months were skipped, the X-Files still belong to CC, 1013,   
and Fox. No infringement intended.   
SUMMARY: A diner, some coffee and an important decision.  
TIMELINE: This story takes place a short time after the funeral   
in DeadAlive.  
WEBSITE: http://marlensxfiles.homestead.com  
AUTHOR NOTES & THANKS AT THE END  
  
  
Persuasion (1/1)  
By Marlen  
  
====================  
  
  
She steps out of her car and into the frigid night air. A burst   
of wind passes through her, making her shiver. She wraps her   
coat as tight as her body will allow and hurries out of the cold   
and into what she hopes will be a warm diner. The chime above   
the door announces her presence and everyone glances to see who   
it is, except for one person at the front counter.   
  
It's nearly 1:00 in the morning, yet the diner is half full.   
She hears a shriek and her hand almost reaches to her sig, but   
the sound is immediately followed by laughter. She notices a   
group of teenage girls gathered in a corner booth, chatting and   
eating appetizers. For a split second, she remembers what it   
was like to be carefree and innocent of the evils of the world.   
She sighs at the vague memory. After all her experiences, she   
can never look at the world in a child-like way again, but   
Mulder could. He always surprised her with an infectious   
excitement that surrounded him every time he was engulfed in a   
case...  
  
The mere thought of his name brings tears to her eyes. She   
feels as if she has been stuck in one consecutive nightmare   
after another since Mulder's abduction, but she finds it hard to   
imagine a greater horror than seeing his lifeless body on the   
ground in the forest, stripped and used like a lab rat.   
  
This is not the way it's supposed to end.   
  
She thought that she had no more tears left to shed, but when   
she glanced at the calendar hanging on her refrigerator door   
this morning while getting ready for work, they flowed easily   
down her cheeks.  
  
Precisely one week ago, she had buried her beloved.  
  
She never made it to work. Instead, she went back to her   
bedroom and crawled under the covers, not caring about her   
nicely pressed suit, and hugged her pillow as if it were him   
instead of cotton and down feathers.   
  
The sound of another late night customer entering the diner   
brings her back to the present and she wipes the single tear   
falling down her cheek.   
  
She tells herself that she will do the best she can to keep   
thoughts of him at bay and move on with her life, but it is   
useless. Everything is a reminder of the past they shared and a   
future they will never have together.   
  
She approaches the counter and a waitress in her late 30's,   
wearing an unappealing uniform to match her enthusiasm, is   
refilling a customer's mug. "You can sit anywhere you want.   
I'll be right with you."  
  
She decides to sit at the counter and when she sees the waitress   
approach, she notices her nametag, Faith. It reminds her of   
when she came back from sure death and told Mulder that she had   
the faith of his beliefs.  
  
Who is she supposed to believe now?  
  
"What can I get for you?"  
  
"Coffee, please." There is already a cup and saucer in front of   
her. The waitress flips the cup over and starts to pour, but   
she puts her hand out to stop the action. "Sorry, decaf." The   
waitress seems annoyed by this. "Please?" The tension in her   
voice leaves no room for argument. Faith pulls back and comes   
back a moment later with the decaf.   
  
"Thank you."   
  
"Anything *else* I can get for you?"  
  
"No, thanks."  
  
She wraps her icy hands around the warm and toasty mug, closes   
her eyes, inhales the scent, and takes a sip. She grimaces at   
the taste of it.   
  
Dejected, she mumbles, "What's the point?"   
  
"What do you mean?" the man next to her asks.   
  
Concentrating on the paper napkin she's methodically shredding,   
she replies, "You try to make yourself believe that it's the   
same, but it's not. It never will be. The taste is different.   
The sensation and excitement isn't the same anymore."  
  
She pauses for a moment, and while looking down at the dark   
shimmering liquid, she continues, "Maybe I should just stop."   
She pushes the cup forward, away from her.  
  
"Do you think he would want you to?"   
  
"Mulder told me once that I should quit and become a doctor, to   
get as far away from him and the X-Files as possible."   
  
"But you didn't."  
  
Picking up where she left off with the rapidly disintegrating   
napkin, she replies, "I couldn't do it. Not as long there was a   
shred of hope -- a chance to fight back." She thinks about the   
vial with the cure Mulder held in his hands. He didn't hesitate   
for one single moment and went to the ends of the earth for her,   
and she couldn't return the favor.   
  
She failed him and she will have to live with that guilt for the   
rest of her life.   
  
"You can't drop everything you've worked so hard for."   
  
She looks over at the man sitting next to her. He has the same   
sad and weary eyes as she does. "Give credit where credit is   
due. This was Mulder's quest, his life's work, not mine. The   
X-Files belongs to someone with the same kind of passion and   
devotion that Mulder had and let's face it, no one has that."  
  
She stares at her now cold coffee, thinking about how she could   
really use a *real* drink right now.   
  
"You have that --"  
  
She cuts him off. "No. I *had* that. It died when I found   
Mulder's body..." she falters, but quickly gathers her   
composure. "As long as there was a chance that Mulder was out   
there –- alive, I would continue to use the sources available to   
me. But he's gone now."  
  
"I don't believe that."  
  
"Well, believe what you want."  
  
"Do you really want to leave the bureau when there are so many   
questions left to be answered?"   
  
"In the years that I been on the X-Files, I have learned that   
the *answers* only get replaced by more questions, and to be   
perfectly honest, I don't think I have the strength," without   
him by my side, she finishes silently.  
  
"What about the truth that Mulder died for?"   
  
She tries to blink the tears away. "This is not an easy   
decision for me, but there are other factors to consider now."   
She rests her hand on the swell of her ever-growing abdomen --   
her only connection to Mulder.   
  
Noticing the protective gesture, he glances from her belly to   
big blue eyes. "That is exactly why you should stay."  
  
When the waitress comes by to refill his cup, he tilts his head   
and lowers his voice to a whisper. "We can't let *them* win.   
You owe it to Mulder, to yourself, and to your baby."  
  
As if the baby could read her thoughts, she is greeted with a   
kick. The pleasure is fleeting as she thinks of the future this   
child will have. Could she be putting her son or daughter in   
greater danger by leaving? Would staying in the X-Files be the   
only way to ensure her baby's survival?  
  
She gives him a sad smile. "I'll give it some thought." She   
puts a couple of dollars on the counter and gets up to leave,   
but he places his hand on hers, stopping her.  
  
He's pensive for a moment. "You know I'm here for you, if you   
need me."  
  
She places her hand on top of his and gives him a small, sad   
smile. "I know...and I appreciate that." Then she slips away   
into the dark, not knowing what the future holds for her.   
  
  
  
~end~  
  
  
AUTHORS NOTES: I wondered what was keeping Scully on the X-  
Files now that Mulder was gone, besides the great health   
benefits and daycare!:) I figured that she wouldn't want to   
stay and need some coaxing.   
  
So, who do you think the mystery man was? veg I would love to   
hear from you at crmv@aol.com  
  
A great big thanks go out to Lenore, the best nitpicker a girl   
could ask for, and to Georgia for her stamp of approval.g  
  
Completed on April 6, 2001  
  



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